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Development emotional intelligence for increased work engagement, organisational commitment, and satisfaction with work life

Herman, Carl R. (2013-03)

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.

Thesis

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Highly competitive organisations are aware that their competitive edge lies within their
human capital. In order for such organisation to stay ahead investing in best practices
regarding people management and development is of paramount importance. In recent times,
work engagement has been empirically linked to many positive organisational outcomes
(Bakker, Demerouti, & Verbeke, 2004; Salanova, Agut, & Peiro, 2005; Schaufeli, Taris, &
Bakker, 2006a). However, research on practical organisational interventions, aimed at
increasing work engagement, is scant.
Engaged employees often experience positive emotions (Bakker & Demerouti, 2008). Happy
people are more sensitive to opportunities at work, more outgoing and helpful to others, more
confident when interacting with others and more optimistic when taking on challenges.
According to Bakker, Schaufeli, Leiter, and Taris (2008) engagement not only stems from job
resources, but from personal resources as well. Building on Fredrickson’s (2000) Broad and
Build theory of positive emotions, it is argued in this study that Emotional Intelligence (EI) is
a personal resource that has not been studied in relation to work engagement. EI refers to the
capacity to effectively perceive, express, understand and manage emotions in a professional and
effective manner at work (Palmer & Stough, 2001). EI regulation abilities (e.g. emotional
management and control) help increase individuals’ coping and / or resilience when more
positive affect is experienced, according to Fredrickson’s Broad and Build theory, and should therefore be a particularly important personal resource for the enhancement of work
engagement. The development of EI has progressively been gaining positive momentum and
various studies have provided empirical support to suggest that EI can be developed
(Dulewicz & Higgs, 2004; Fletcher, Leadbetter, Curran, & O’Sullivan, 2009; Gardner, 2005;
Gorgens-Ekermans, 2011; Nelis, Quoidbach, Mikolajczak, & Hansenne, 2009; Slaski &
Cartwright, 2003). By using the Swinburne University Emotional Intelligence Test (SUEIT)
theoretical framework, it is argued that by developing emotional recognition and regulation
abilities, specifically that of emotional management, employees would be better able to
manage their positive and negative emotions, thereby improving their positive psychological
state at work, which should increase their level of engagement. It is furthermore argued that
increased EI will also affect other positive organisational outcomes, such as organisational commitment and satisfaction with work life. To this end, an EI training intervention
programme was implemented and evaluated within an international courier company based in
Cape Town, South Africa. A controlled experimental design (two-group pre- and post-test design) was utilised for the
research. The EI training programme was evaluated in terms of its effect on EI, work
engagement, organisational commitment and satisfaction with work life. A second objective
of the study was to investigate and replicate previous research on the interrelationships
between the constructs in the study within a South African sample. The total sample
consisted of 35 full time employees. Three assessments were conducted (one week before
the start of the intervention, immediately after the completion of the training, and two and a
half months thereafter) The findings of the study demonstrated limited empirical support for
the notion that EI training could improve levels of EI. Although definite trends to suggest this
were evident in the data, the results were not statistically significant. Empirical evidence
further suggested partial and weak support for work engagement and satisfaction with work
life levels increasing as a result of the intervention. Unfortunately no support for
organisational commitment levels improving as a result of the training was found. In terms of
exploring and replicating the interrelationships between the constructs in the study,
favourable results were found. Significant positive relationships emerged between all the
related constructs. The results, however, need to be interpreted in terms of the limitations that
were identified for this study. The results suggest that more research is required in this
domain.